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My freshman year at Clark Atlanta University has been very enlightening and productive. I have met many people, gained knowledge from my professors and have learned more about myself. As I reflect upon my matriculation at this illustrious HBCU I say my overall experience has been good. I did not get out much; I was swamped with work and very concerned of my grades which did not leave a decent amount of room for fun and parties. I did not get to embrace my campus and school as much as thought I would, but I am ecstatic to say that I am ending off freshman year with excellent grades. I am working hard now so I will have time to enjoy myself later. Focusing specifically on my 106 English classes with Professor Peterson I would say that I was constantly reminded of high school. Her teaching style and habits reminded me of a very influential English teach I had for 3 years, my Advanced/AP teacher Mrs. T. Oliver which is a great thing. I felt that from there I was well prepared for many writings and projects that came forth during my freshman year. While I seemed mostly prepared I was also open to the comments I would receive on my writings, good and bad. I knew my writings were flawed and with each comment I was able to work off of that and attempt to redeem myself and my work. I did not always prove victorious with my final drafts, but writing is a process and I do not let any grade slow me down. Examining the many assignments written in 106 English I am choosing to highlight my prospectus final draft and midterm slave narrative research paper, my literary analysis, the commented and final draft, and the collaborative history research presentation and final history paper in CMS. These three major writings stood out to me in positive and negative ways. Some display my strengths while others show off my weakness and I am glad to present all and prove my progress through my freshman year. Along with my major assignments I have three minor assignments, blogs, which give insight into my life and joys. These writings are my first step into an ongoing process to becoming a better writer and to achieve my aspiration of being a journalist.

` The first major writing assignment was our prospectus. I did an okay job on the first draft, but my final prospectus draft was horrible. I admit I did have to rush near the ending because I was short a few sources and my narrative proved to be somewhat difficult. The slave my group and I agreed on was not fully thought through because neither of us reviewed the slaves as instructed to. As we stumbled upon Andrew Jackson the first person that came to mind was the president, but we were wrong in our thoughts. None the less our slave’s narrative proved to be short and not as complexed leaving an opening for many questions and interpretations. Writing the prospectus paragraphs was not complicated. The confusion came from the narrative its self because I was unsure of what to focus on and concerned for what would give an abundant amount of information. The slave Andrew Jackson had only little details behind his life, the most reliable source was the narrative. I chose to focus on the complications of Negros narrating their stories while others wrote or produced it. This topic was not an easy one to find plentiful information. Many of my sources took me a few days to find, but I was able to come up with some reliable sources that helped me in my research progress. I believe the aspect that made my final draft horrible was myself. I did not pay close attention to the revisions needed and though I fixed my punctuation and grammar errors I did not pay attention to the required number of sources. That, from what I believe, is what gave me a lower grade. I was more disappointed with myself. Through this first writing I learned that I must pay close attention to the requirements and specifications.

While writing my midterm slave narrative research paper I was sure that this paper would be a passing grade. I had put a lot of time and effort into my lave narrative and was sure of an ‘A’, maybe a ‘B’. Yet, I was wrong. My grade proved unsatisfying and showed that my paper was not fully developed and my thoughts were not executed throughout the paper. I know that my grammar and punctuation weigh me down heavily in every paper I write and I try to instill more attention to those areas, but with my focus put on one writing aspect I let other things disrupt my paper. I admit I was very frustrated with this paper. I had a difficult time finding a thesis and a hard time giving a full explanation of my supporting evidence. My ideas were thrown everywhere and my sources listed were not all used. If we were able to submit a final draft for the slave narrative I believe I would have been able to redeem myself. It seems that I was heading on the right path with my writing, I just made a few extra turns that brought up irrelevant points and I was not tying my specified points into the central meaning, thesis or title. My writing still has a lot of flaws needing to be fixed, but I was satisfied, for the most part of how I did on the slave narrative. My topic was hard and the resources were scarce, but I pulled through and presented a well enough paper.

I was excited to know that we were doing a literary analysis. I have had much work on doing this type of writing in high school and I thought that this would be an easy ‘A’ for me. I felt more at ease when I found out we had a choice between two poems or one essay. I enjoyed analyzing poems during high school because it was enlightening to break down and reveal what the writer was trying saying. I chose to do R. Kipling’s “The White Man’s Burden,” a poem I have broken down before and knew much about and P.L. Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask,” a poem that seemed relevant to the first one I chose and was written in the same time period. In my literary analysis commented draft I had many errors, mostly dealing with grammatic and punctuation. I continue to attempt to avoid such errors, but I am not progressing as quickly as I would prefer. While analyzing I noticed that while I was planning on focusing on a formalist framework I incorporated a historical view as well. I did not purposely do so. The history part was only emphasized little because in the guidelines I misinterpreted what was asked. I thought that when it said to include the dates that meant giving some relevant background info. When given the chance to perfect my writing and post my literary analysis final draft I went ahead without the comments from Professor Peterson and fixed my mistakes. I took out all the historical parts; besides the facts that I knew myself, and went back to make sure I was using TRI. I also rephrased and took out some things because it was irrelevant to my thesis. I made sure that every paragraph could be related to the thesis and title. I have not received my grade yet on my revision, but I feel that my proofing was efficient and that I should receive a grade high that the first.

My last major assignments were not as difficult because it focused on topics that I picked and that I was interested in. The history topic I chose to focus on were Geisha’s and the effects imperialism had upon them. I have always been interested in Japan and their culture and once hearing of the Geisha’s I became intrigued with their customs and who they actually were. My power point on The Tales of a Geisha history presentation and my final history paper in CMS gave me a better insight on the Geisha’s, answered many questions and informed me as well as others of the Geisha duties. I put a lot of time and effort into the research because I was also looking to answer many questions that came about when hearing of Geisha’s. My best source was the movie Memoirs of a Geisha. This movie gives in full detail the process and lives Geisha’s lived. I recommend for everyone to see this movie. The movie was based off of a book that is said to be based off of the life of one of the most famous Geisha’s in Kyoto, Japan. The hardest part when putting together my history presentation was figuring out the thesis. Once I was able to present I was glad to know I was headed on the right track. My thesis was fixed and all I had to worry about was the paper. While construction the paper I worried that I was reporting a paper instead of analyzing. Once turning it in and getting my response I saw that I could actually have given more information and historical dates. It seems that my biggest controversy when writing a historical paper is that I do not include as much historical data and time periods as needed. Though I still received an excellent grade and I was satisfied for the most I’ve learned from writing historical papers that I should not hold back on my writing due to the fear of reporting because if I would have continued to put more information into my work I could have possibly received a 100.

Focusing on my minor assignments I chose to highlight three blogs, the first one being about my Yorkie Sassy. On March 03, 2012 I said congrats Sassy for the birth of her six girl puppies. They are a mixture of Yorkie and Chihuahua, breed name Chorkies. I was not there to witness it, but my father kept me up to date with the entire event. Not long after I was finally able to meet the six puppies and it was a joy for me. We named the puppies, Foster, Ice Cream, Snicker, Little Foot, Enzo and Roxie. I did not pick out all of the names by myself, but it was evident that each name fit each puppy’s personality. I believe that this blog was one of my best because it dealt with real events and I was happy to be able to share it and the picture with all viewers. I saw no flaws in this blog because the birth of the six little puppies outshined everything else. My second blog gave readers a look into my dreams as I expressed my goals and aspirations of life and believe that if I continue with everything I am doing now I will be able to reach those dreams. I am an aspiring journalist and know the competitiveness of the field and the knowledge I’ll need to know. I am confident that my studies through school with help me towards greatness. This blog gives readers hope and lets them know that anything is attainable in life, set your goals and never take them down regardless of what happens and who says otherwise. My final blog was based off of Honda Battle of the Bands 2012 .Dancing is my passion and I have been dancing since the 4th grade. I have always seen myself being able to participate in Honda once I reached college, but sadly our school was not selected to go this year. I have danced in the Dome plenty times, but being able to dance on a collegiate level in front of many viewers was something I haven’t done. Even though I was not able to participate in Honda I was able to go and watch and see what the hype was all about. I also got to cheer on one of my former teammates from high school as she graced the field. The experience was great.

My time in 106 English with Professor Peterson is up and I will not be returning to Clark Atlanta University, fall 2012, but I will make sure to take what I have learned and apply it to my daily life and classes at Georgia State University. Being in Professor Peterson class has opened my eyes to even more flaws I possess, but has also helped me recognize what I must work on during the summer. My grammar is being worked on and my punctuations will take some time, but I am beginning to apply TRI in many of my essays that organizes it more than when I first started. My blogs are flawless because each express my live situations and dreams and I feel that there is no way to specifically tell other s how you feel and what is going on within your life that is deemed important. My writing is progressing one day at a time and though I wish is could have everything written down pack I am willing to wait and progress at my own speed because I know that I will be a great writer and editor. I know that I will always be able to reflect on the teachers that helped me get to where I am going and I am grateful for the help.

Not everyone knows how to dance. Some people learn, for some dancing comes naturally and for others they just can not dance, but there is always a possibility. Practice makes perfect, that is what I have been told and I have proven that it is true by my efforts. If you practice diligently you will progress. Like I said before everyone can not dance, but you can practice and that will get you far enough to pass by.

So you want to learn how to dance, well you have already taken the first step and that is possessing the want to dance. So next comes the practice, but one can not practice on their own. It is easier to learn when you are taught by someone who already knows what they are doing. Finding a dance studio is easy, deciding which one you want to go to is the difficult part. I suggest Dance 411 or Kameo Productions. Those are two good studios I know of. Once you decide where to go and pay the money asked for you are ready to learn how to dance.

So you take the beginners course for a couple of weeks and before you know it you are learning the basic elements of dance. With the basic elements you are able to put together your own dance, it is just that simple.

Dancing is not hard, but it is not easy. Yet, with practice and dedication to what you are doing it could be possible. My point is simply this, it is a cause and effect. You want to dance so you find a studio and take lessons for a few weeks, that’s the cause. The effect is that after your progression, slow or fast, you have learned to dance and can go on to learn more and become an even greater dancer. Practice makes perfect and that is very true.

Do you believe in the saying “practice makes perfect”? Why or why not?

This past week was campaign week for Clark Atlanta University. Many illustrious students were in the running for SGA President, SGA Vice President, Miss Clark Atlanta University, the royal court and more. It was a very tough competition. From early in the morning till night, the candidates stayed outside with their support group helping them promote their selves and their platform. They also had an abundant number of foods and snacks for students to indulge in. I admit that I went to many tables in order to obtain the free food. There was Chick-fil-a, BBQ, ice cream, drinks and other delicious items. Regardless of my wants for food I still gave the candidates a chance to impress me and give me their spill on what they believed they could do for Clark Atlanta University. Many people had much to say, but only few stuck with me in mind for actually having a chance at winning the desired title.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012 the school held the Miss Clark Atlanta University Pageant. I attended the pageant with my roommate. The set up was very elegant. There were silk cloths on the tables and silk on the chairs. During the pageant drinks were served and light food, though I did not receive any from the hostess. The pageant was very precise, straight to the point and short. I had no problem with that because many other pageants I have attended lasted over two hours and by that time I had lost interest. The pageant included the three candidates for Miss Clark Atlanta University 2012-2013, two contestants for Miss Sophomore, four contestants for Miss Junior and two contestants for Miss Senior. I knew few people competing and was excited to see how they performed. To be honest, there were a few mistakes with some of the candidates. During the answer portion it seemed that a few talked around the question instead of answering it straight forward, the opening number one girl continued to mess up while dancing, and the talent portion for the contestants for Miss CAU went sour. When I say it went sour, I mean that it wasn’t what I expected. The violin played was not tuned, at all. The song sung was a little of key, and the tap dancing was atrocious. Though there were flaws, as a whole the pageant was one of the best productions I have attended at Clark Atlanta University.
Friday was election day and the promenade was busy with promotion. I made sure to vote at night so I would not have to be bothered with everyone asking if I had voted yet. I wish we were able to vote for all of the classes, but as rising sophomores we only voted for SGA, our class representatives and Miss Clark Atlanta University. I thought I would have a difficult time choosing, but It was rather easy. When looking at each section I simply thought back to who I talked to and who I most remembered. If I remembered that person that means they left some sort of impression on me. This past week was fun; I am excited to see who wins. Good luck to all.
Have you ever ran for something at school (i.e. president, secretary, miss…)? What did you think about campaign week at CAU?

I’m an army brat. Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, but have been all over our glorious country in less than 10 years. I made my final stop in Georgia when I was in the 3rd grade. I am now almost done with my first year of college. I guess you could say that I’m a southern belle now. Though born in the north, most of my family that I see numerously is on my mother’s side and they all live in Savannah. I love Savannah, GA. I love the trees, the ocean, the history, but most of all I love Savannah’s food. Always being surrounded by my mother’s family, I grew accustomed to eating seafood. I am a true seafood lover. I eat shrimp, fish, crawfish, lobster, oysters, clams, etc. My favorite seafood to eat is blue crabs. They are to die for. In doing a process analysis I will take you through the steps to prepare your own blue crabs so you can see the joy and taste the greatness of the sea.
First, you must go purchase live blue crabs. Yes, they must be alive. Yes, they will snap, but no they won’t be too difficult to tame. I suggest going to your local farmers market to get some fresh crabs. Gather as many as you think you may want or need. Keep them on ice until you get home. You can put them in a nice size cooler while you prepare to cook them.
Next, you gather your cooking items. You will need a deep pot, a really, really deep pot. Fill the pot with water, not to the rim, but more than half. Put the pot on high heat. Make sure to cook your crabs you have a pair or two of tongs.
Afterwards, gather the necessary seasonings to put into the water. My family likes our food spicy, so we usually use a lot of spicy seasonings. You do not have to season the water for your crabs if you don’t want to, but they do taste better in my opinion because everything taste better with a little bit of flavor.
Once your water is well seasoned and boiling, it’s time to bring forth your crabs. Put the crabs into the water one by one. Be careful, they fuss a bit and we do not want anyone to drop their crabs and have them running loose. When all of the crabs are into the water, place the top on the pot and let them cook until they turn red.
When the crabs are red, you are red to remove them from the water and serve them to your friends and/or family.
A few quick notes for everyone: I suggest you get the male crabs instead of the females. The males cost a bit more than the females, but they are meatier. When opening your crab make sure to remove the gills and scrape out the intestines and other organs. Do not eat the shells. Crabs take a little bit of work to eat, but they are worth it in the end.
Some people are not able to eat shellfish and others are particular about what shell fish they eat. Do you like seafood? Have you eaten crabs before and if so tell me your first experience.

The gift of child is a beautiful thing. I wouldn’t know personally, but when I see women within their pregnancy they seem happier and bring a brighter presence with them and I think that is just lovely. I will be joyous when it is my time to have children, but I am able to wait. I do not plan on having children until I am settled in a home with a car and stable in my career. That is my plan and I’m sticking to it. Now-a-days there are younger mothers. Not too long ago my best friend from high school had my adorable god daughter. She is just a joy and I love her so much. About a month ago, I found out that one of my best friends was pregnant; she’s about 11 weeks now. I am excited for her and even more excited for her shower in September; I think she’ll be having a boy. I have my fingers crossed. Today, April 07, 2012 I attended a baby shower with my boyfriend. The person pregnant attended high school with us. She is having a little girl named London. The shower was fun; we played many games, ate finger foods and watched as she opened her gifts with her boyfriend. Me and Korey, my boyfriend, got our friend a gift together. We got a one piece outfit with matching booties and mittens for London so she won’t scratch her face, and another outfit with diaper wipes. We tried to think a bit outside of the box so we would not get the same items as everyone else. Yet with all these young girls having babies around me, I was most surprised to find out this morning that my sister had a baby girl yesterday April 06, 2012. Most people do not know, but I have two elder sisters. They are my half-sisters, but in my family we do not use those words because regardless of who we came from we are all still siblings. My sister Felicia is 21 and my sister Ashley, who had her baby yesterday, will be 20 in October. They both live in New Jersey. It may seem strange that I am just finding out about my sister being pregnant, but the truth is that we do not have a strong bond as we once did. It is a lot to go into detail about, but to keep things short, our father stayed with me and my brother instead and we all drifted apart over time. I haven’t seen or heard from Ashley since I was a little, little girl. And I only see Felicia once every year, or every other year, but we still don’t talk. We all have a lot to catch up on and have a lot to forgive and forget, but I won’t less this non sense keep me from embracing the joy that I am an auntie. I plan on sending my sister a basket of baby stuff this upcoming week. I am going to send it to my grandma in Jersey and she will give it to Ashley. I love my sisters dearly and I hope over time we can recollect and start over.
Do you know people who have had babies at a young age?

It is known that we live in a corrupt word. A world where the laws are flawed and acceptance of inhumane practices are approved. The government approval of human experimentation in the United States of America is horrid. I am ever more displeased that many of these experiments are conducted in facilities of high learning.
There are pros and cons to the experiments, but I believe that the cons out weigh the pros. Having these experiments done gives the world insight on possible solutions to illnesses and other medical substances, but sometimes the experimenters can take the experiments too far to where the test subjects become unaware of the substances or unclear of all the effects that may occur. This makes the experiments inhuman.
I am in disagreement with the process of experimenting on humans. I believe that there is another way to find the cause of medical issues. We do not have to test these medicines on humans.
Looking at the incidents that occurred at three Universities, stated by Ms. Williams, I was appalled that the students would go to such measures and the professors were not the voice of reason to them.
Using Tuskegee University, one of Ms. Williams mentioned colleges in her presentation; I honestly think that these people had no sense, no love of men, or that they were trying to kill off some of the Negro population. These people took advantage of old, poor Negro men unknowingly giving them syphilis and did not informing others who were a part of their experiment that they already had the disease. What sane person would do such a thing? These men believed they were receiving free health care from our government, but they were lied to and this experiment continued on for about 40 years. Most men died, while their wives contracted the disease and some infants were born with congenital syphilis.
I do not agree with any part of these inhuman experiments. What is one life to billions of lives? People may think that now, until it becomes them, their children or other close family members who are tricked into these experiments. I urge people to be aware and be safe because every doctor you meet may not be so nice.
What do you think of these experiments on human-beings? Are you for or against this? Why?

February 26, 2012 a young teen by the name of Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by the neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was not charged for the crime. I think that is totally ludicrous. Watching the news on channel 34, I’ve learned that Zimmerman is racist by saying that when he is on watch duty he mainly keeps a look out for African American males. That is not right, that is bias. Why would one want to have that type of man in their program, or even the neighborhood? Zimmerman has made a few heroic acts throughout the neighborhood, but this act was not thought through and ignorant in mind. Martin was said to be walking to his family’s house at night wearing a hoodie and carrying a bag of Skittles and an Arizona Ice Tea. Zimmerman claims that the child looked suspicious and that he was up to no good. How does one look suspicious with Skittles and an Arizona? They don’t, they look suspicious because they are black and that’s what Zimmerman truly wanted to say. Zimmerman claims he shot Martin in self defense. That is false. He had motive and intent. When Zimmerman called the police he stated, “they always get away”. The police asked if Zimmerman was following the young man and he said yes, but the police told him not to do that and he agreed. It is not self defense when you are following someone else with a gun in your possession. And once the police told him to stop, he agreed, but continued in pursuit of Martin. Martin ran and was shot. I still don’t see the use of self defense for Zimmerman. The police say that they are unable to press any charges on Zimmerman, yet, because he claimed self defense. Now they must look into the case more drastically. While that is underway many African American residents are becoming restless with the case standing up for Martin in hopes that justice is served, along with the reports who state that Zimmerman is guilty and should be put away. I think Zimmerman is 100% guilty. There is no sign of innocence. What do you think of this case? Is Zimmerman innocent or guilty?

Yesterday night was one of the best nights of my life. My dog, Sassy, finally had her babies. I spent the previous weekend with her while my father was away for business. I had high hopes of her having her babies while I was there so I could see them, but she didn’t sadly. While watching her I would rub her stomach, she loves her stomach to be rubbed and falls asleep each time. Every time I rub Sassy’s stomach I would feel for her babies. Each time I felt them moving I got more excited for her. My daddy said that she would be due very soon. Before he left he took Sassy to the vet and they said she would be having two, at the max three, puppies. I told my dad that went I felt the puppies in her stomach it seemed that there were four, or more. The vet was very wrong.
When I first heard of the good news I become so ecstatic. I wish I could have been there. I told my daddy to take pictures, but he told me she had only had one puppy so far. About an hour later he called back and said she had two more, but he said it didn’t look like she was done, so we waited anxiously. About two, or three, hours later my daddy called back with greater news. Sassy was up to six puppies, twice as many as predicted. I wasn’t able to receive a good picture of the puppies till this morning. They are so cute and I am very happy for Sassy and myself because I am now a grandmother, in a way.
Sadly I know we will not be able to keep all the puppies. I know for sure that we will be giving one male away to my aunt for her son. I haven’t met with my father yet to talk about what we are going to do with the other five. My daddy has no interest in selling them for profit; he just wants the puppies to go to a good and loving home. I know many people who want a puppy, but I haven’t made any promises to anyone.
Hopefully I will be able to go see my daddy, Sassy and the puppies during spring break. I get the chance to name them.
I am very anxious to meet the puppies and play with them, but I know I must wait for a while before I am able to touch them. The puppies are a mix of Yorkshire Terrier (Sassy) and Chihuahua (Rocky). I looked up the mixture and found out that the puppies are Chorkies. I am hoping that when they get older they take on more of Sassy’s hereditary genes, but if they look more like Rocky then it will still be fine.
I want send a very special congratulations to my yorkie Sassy, a proud mommy of six, March 03, 2012. Do you own any dogs? Do you remember the joy felt when you first got your dog?

I believe both Dubois and Washington had very valid points. I do not believe that neither man was trying to put any Negro down, but more so uplift them. There are some major differences that cause each man to react as they do and to choose their chose of diction carefully as well.
Washington is giving a speech in front of whites and Negro. He was personally asked to conduct his speech. A speech takes less time to prepare and because he is faced with a mixed audience Washington must appeal to both races. This is why he must be careful with his word choice. He must speak the truth without actually saying it.
The instant he spoke of the Negros, calling them ignorant and inexperience was the first attention grabber that interested the white audience, but when he says, “It is not strange in the first few years of our new life we begin at the top instead of the bottom” (Washington 1), that is when he began to appeal to the Negros. After working such mediocre jobs for many years, the desire of more challenging working habits are desired. Since they were once denied the finer things in life, as in education, reading, political voices, etc. one would first be looking forward to attain the things that were at one time unreachable to many.
The most interesting part of the speech was when he spoke of the people lost at sea and them having to cast down their buckets to acquire fresh water to quench their thirst. To the whites he could have possibly been saying that the Negros must cast down their buckets unto them to better their selves and to learn from their white counterparts, but to his fellow Negros he was saying that they must not flee to the North in hopes of a better life but stay in the South and create that life. They must cast down their buckets where they currently are and continue to build up this civilization that once and still does thrive upon them. You must befriend your enemy for your own continuation.
I was unsure of what he meant in the fifth paragraph, but my interpretation is that though a percentage of the Negros are to continue life by working with their hands, there are ways they are able to enhance it by dignifying and glorifying there prosperity.
To the whites Washington wishes to say that they, as well, need to cast down their buckets to the thousands of Negros amongst them who have befriended them, nurtured and cared for them, giving them what riches they have today. Do not put them down, but uplift them.
This speech is both moving and inspiring to both races. I believe that Washington did an exceptional job with uniting the races more than they once were.
Dubois, on the other hand, had the privilege to create and essay which takes more time, proof reading and editing. It does not seem that Dubois was too concerned at the thoughts of the white men upon his writing. He seemed more concerned about getting out his message.
As Dubois speaks of the Talented Ten he is basically stating that there are a select few within every generation, within every race that are selected to uplift, inspire and lead their people to prosperity. The first task at hand though would be to pick out the men and men are hard to come by. “Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools” (Dubois ¶1), anything else would produce something different. I agree with Dubois to a certain extent. Manhood would be the first object, but there could be others that followed, as in money and technical skills. It is always good to come upon someone who is multitalented. Why can’t you be a man who knows how to make money and can be an artisan?
The task of the people who are to help guide those who are of the Talented Ten ask to show how these men are worthy of leadership, how they are educated and developed and show relation to the Negro problem. The Negro problem is under a wide variety of things, but I believe it is only a stereotype. The things that are said and how Negros is portrayed gives them the thought that they are as everyone says and that is not true. There is only one Negro problem, and that is everyone else who influence and support such ludicrous thoughts.
Dubois reflects back upon history giving examples of people categorized under the Talented Ten, also known as the Revolutionary Group of Distinguished Negros. He mentions Phillis Wheatley, Paul Cuffe, Benjamin Banneker, Dr. James Derham and Lemuel Haynes. These notable people where the first inspirational leaders of the Talented Ten, possessing special marked abilities that made them unique. Sadly their existence shortly faded into forgetfulness, but their presence was not fully gone but showed through others who came along.
These references give Negros something to look back upon history and to be proud of, encouraging those who still see the racial tension between races to act and to do as their forefathers did. Dubois explains that after the creation of the First Negro Convention in Philadelphia (1831), the Negro leaders became closer to the white men and began to make movements that swept the nation. These people stand as the winning possibilities of the Negro race. I was well impressed and pleased with Dubois’s writing so far, but when it came to the point where he question or current generation, I wasn’t too sure what response to give.
Who are the current leaders of our time who are guiding the Negro race? There are few, but few is not enough because the few we have are struggling and need others there for backup. “All men can not go to college, but some men must” (Dubois ¶15) and those that must, will be the backbones we are looking for.
Both men make very valid points and together their overall message is that we must come together s a race, not forgetting where we came from and who we came from. We are a race of pure intelligence and hold the spirit of greatness. We must uplift each other and not run away from the obstacles that stand ahead of us, but grasp each other’s hands and take on the challenge head first.

Yesterday, February 21, 2012, I was escorted by my close friend Symien 30 minutes away from school to the Crown Plaza Hotel. My reason for going was because the weekend prior to this week I had received a letter in the mail from Virginia. A woman named Patty Ann was addressing me, telling me that I was referred to her by someone I know. The letter was for the 2012 Miss Teen Pageant. I was very ecstatic to receive this information. I have never been in a pageant before, but I have seen many on TV. I was also in shock, wondering why I would be recommended for a pageant when I have never done anything close to it. Regardless, I was asked if I was interested and if so then there would be an interest meeting Tuesday February 21ST at 5:30pm sharp. I was very unclear if I even wanted to participate because the first thing I thought about when the word pageant was mentioned were tons of white females who have been doing pageants since they could walk, and how could I compete with that? None the less, I said what the heck and went to the interest meeting. I felt somewhat out of place because it was a lot of white people. It’s nothing racist because I use to go to mixed schools, but since 8TH grade and up I’ve been at all black schools, so it kind of just through me out of the presence of other races.
When I got to the Crown Plaza I was directed to the back to sign in. They asked us to wear clothing as if we were going to an interview, to bring a picture of ourselves, to bring pen and paper to take notes and to arrive 15-20 minutes early. Even though I arrived early, I was disappointed that we did not start on time. Once everyone got settled we were introduced to a woman, whose name escapes me, who would be guiding us throughout the pageant. She gave us a brief background information on her life. One thing interesting I remember is that she said during the week she works with teens that are HIV positive and contracted it through drugs and other related substances and during the week she worked with pageant girls. It was awkward, but cool at the same time.
While the hostess was giving a brief run through of the pageant I and other girls were escorted outside of the room to turn in our papers we received and to do a brief interview. I believe I did well. Once returning to the room we viewed a video of the previous year’s pageant. It seemed like so much fun and it excited me. The one thing that really made me want to do the pageant overall was when we were handed our packets and told the prizes. The cash prizes offered somewhat interested me. The winners would receive $20,000-$50,000, but by time I’m back in school next year I would have already paid that much, so that kind of made me laugh. The best prize was for the age division 16-19. We are able to win a 2013 sports car. I lit up at the thought.
Now I am waiting for my reply to see if I have made it to the next level. I believe I have, but if so I will have complications. The days we’re supposed to practice, I will be on spring break and in South Carolina. The hotel is already paid for and I don’t want it to go to waste. My mom thinks I should go through with the pageant, but that means I’ll be sacrificing something I really want to do. I’ve been dancing for about 10 years and I have sacrificed so much just to dance, so I don’t think it’s far. If pushed to the next level I will call the people and see if I can work out something, if not then I guess I won’t be doing the pageant, sadly, but there is always next year.
Do you think I should go forward with the pageant? Or enjoy my spring break fully?